THE 411 ON 914 // FARMED OUT

NUMBER OF FARMS IN WESTCHESTER: 150; TOTAL ACREAGE: 13,000

By: Tony Seideman

Two hundred years ago, most of Westchester County was farmland. A century ago, a significant portion of the county’s land still was used for agriculture. That total has plummeted in modern times, declining by up to 50 percent in the last three decades alone.

Most of the county’s 150 farms are situated in the far north. North Salem is the unquestioned leader, but Somers, Bedford, Yorktown, and Lewisboro also boast significant acreage. According to the Westchester County Planning Department, the largest farm operation in Westchester is the 866-acre, nonprofit Hudson Pines Farm at the Rockefeller Estate, which specializes in cattle, while the largest commercial farm operation in Westchester is the Stonewall Farm, a horse farm that occupies about 660 acres in Somers. The smallest commercial farm is the 1.6-acre Emil Yedowitz Florists and Growers in Yonkers.